Author visit from Michael Donkor
Last week Esher College Students and Staff were treated to a blast from the past when former English teacher Michael Donkor returned to give us a reading of his new coming-of-age novel Hold.
Set in 2002, Hold tells the story of two teenage girls. Belinda, a Ghanaian servant girl, who is brought from Ghana to south London to befriend and help disengaged teen Amma. Michael read an excerpt from his book and introduced students to Ghanaian culture and its Twi language. There was also a lively Q&A session when Michael talked about how he went from a teacher of English to become a writer and how his experiences at Esher College helped him to understand the psychology of teenagers.
His tips to all budding writers: “Read Everything. Enter loads of writing competitions and find a group of trusted readers who will be compassionate and honest in their feedback.”
Hold by Michael Donkor is our Book of the Week and available to rent from the Learning Resource Centre LRC1.
